Car-coupling



(No Model.)

J HAISH GAR GOUPLING.

N. PETERS. PholoLhhugnphur. nshingkm D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

JACOB HAISH, OF DE KALB, ILLINOIS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 424,473, dated April 1, 1890.

Application led January 4, 1890. Serial No. 335,892. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB HAISH, a citizen of the United States, residing at De Kalb, in the county of De Kalb and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Couplings; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this speciication.

My invention relates to improvement-s in car-couplers; and the object thereof is to provide an attaching and disengaging mechanism which can be controlled and operated from the side of the car and also from the top thereof. l

The objects of my improvements are, first, to provide a coupling wh-ich shall automatically engage and which can be disengaged, as

aforesaid, without passing or being between the cars; second, to aiford facilities for disengaging said coupling at the ordinary brakewheel located on the deck of the car; third, to raise the buffer to the same horizontal plane with the lower frame of the car, and thus bring the pointof concussion opposite the lower portion of the car, and thereby also provide room for the operation of the coupler under said buer; fourth, by extending the buffers to nearly the width of the cars and seating the same upon suitable springs to form a platform between the cars above the couplings, and thus prevent accidents from any casual falling of persons between the cars; fifth, to constitute the draft-bar a coupling in itself and pivotally seat said bar in a horizontal plane near its forward end, and to afford the said bar two draft-points with an elastic seat between them; sixth,to adapt said coupling for use with cars provided with the ordinary pinand-link coupling. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-4 Figure 1 is a horizontal section of an ordi-V nary car in the line of the upper surface of the lower portion of the frame thereof, exhibitingthe construction, locality, and operation.

of my improvements, with the lateral movements indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is an oblique side elevation of a portion of my improvements. Fig. 3 exhibits the general relative position of the buffers in rounding a curve. Fig. 4. exhibits details of the severa parts employed. I

As my invention is applicable to any form of freight-car, and the inode of construction of the latter is well known, I do not deem it essential to show or describe the car any further than to render intelligible the location, construction, and operation of my improvements.

The parts numbered l 1 are the horizontal timbers constituting the bottom ofthe main body of the car. curely fastened the diagonal braces or hounds 2. An iron cross-piece 3 extends from one of the hounds 2 to the other, near the inner end of said hounds, and forms the support for the rear end of the draft-bar A, whose forward end performs the function of a coupling. A portion of the draft is also against the crossbar 3, as hereinafter described, and said bar also serves as a slide or way for the lateral oscillation of the rear end of the draw-bar A. A shorter cross-bar 4 is placed horizontallya short distance in front of the bar 3 and passed through the horizontal slot B in the drawbar A and forms a central support therefor. The hounds 2 are reenforced on their inner sides by an iron plate O, having convergent sides and suitably bolted to the inner face of said hounds, and also against the inner face of the end cross-sill 1. The plate C at its outer end is provided with a transverse flange C', which engages the upper inner angle of said sill l. A vertical pin-hole D is formed centrally in the forward end of the plate C and in the front edge of said sill l, into which a pin E is passed through a longitudinal slot 10, formed in the forward portion of the draw-bar A. A strong spring 7 is seated in a longitudinal slot or recess F in the draw-bar A, having its rear end abutting against and suitably attached to the inner end of slot F and its front end against and suitably attached to the transverse portion of the plate O. W'hen the spring 7 is in a normal position, it draws the outer end of the slot' D against the pin E. When the draft is applied, the lengthwise compression of the Under the frame l are se` Ico` spring 7 permits the draw-bar to be drawn slightly outward, when the pin E will be engaged by the inner end of the slot D, and a vertical pin 9 in the inner end of the drawbar A will be drawn up against the rear wall of the bar 3. The spring thereby graduates the draft at its initiative until the pins E and 9 are engaged as aforesaid, when thereafter the draft is upon both of said pins. The pin E also serves as a pivot for the engagement of the clutch head or coupling 23, formed on the outer end of thedraw-bar A, by the lateral oscillation of said draw-bar. A strong spring 6, attached at one end of the hounds 2 and at the other end to the draw-bar A, near the rear end of the latter, holds the draw-bar A in a position parallel with the car. A bellcrank le'ver 1l is suitably fulorumed at its angle to the outside of one of the hounds 2 or to one of the sills 1, oppositely to spring 6, and has its free orlever end extended beyond the adjacent side of thev car convenient for grasping by the operator when on the ground. The opposite end of the lever 11 is pivotally attached to one or more toggles l2, connecting' said end with the adjacent side of the draw-bar A. A slide 13, suitably placed beneath the car under the lever 11, serves as a guide and support for the latter in its oscillations. lVhen the lever 11 is drawn forward, it draws the inner end of the draw-bar A toward that side of the car, and', the coupling head or jaw 23 being projected in the same direction, the uncoupling is thereby eifected. A lug or depression G, formed on the slide 13 at the forward reach of the lever 11, serves to engage and hold fthe latter at that point and the jaw 23 in the position of disengagement.

The usual vertical brakeshaft 16, I construct of hollow gas-pipe and project a rod 15 down the inside of said pipe, and from the rod 15, where the latter projects below the gas-pipe 16, I extend a chain 17 to an intermediate point on the lower end of the lever 11.

By using a crank J, seated on the upper endof the rod 15, where the latter projects above the gas-pipe 16, the operator can by winding the chain 17 on the rod 15 draw the lever 11 Y the chain 17 winds, there is rigidly seated a horizontal annular plate K. A short horizontal arm L is rigidly attached to the lever 11, and when the latter is thrown forward the arm L rests on the upper surface of the plate K. An annular iiange is formed around the upper end of the gas-pipe 16 on the upper surface of the usual brake hand-wheel M', and the crank J being so attached to the upper end of the rod 15 as that said. crank may have a movement in a vertical'plane, it can be used as a lever and the iiange lll as a fulcrum for the vertical raising of the rod 15 suiiiciently to lift the lever 11, through the medium of the arm L, out of engagement with the lug or depression G, and thereby the operator, when on the top of the car, may uncouple the car or set the draw-bar A to resume its normal position for automatic coupling. The gas-pipe 16, near its lower end and above the plate K, is utilized for winding the ordinary brake-chain 1S. The coupling-head 23 of the draw-bar A is formed with the usual beveled head on the outside of the jaw thereof, and when such beveled surfaces come in contact in the coupling of the car the concussion moves the respective draw-bar outwardly a sufficient distance to allow the coupling to be automatic, the spring 6 Iirst yielding enough for that purpose and drawing the coupling-heads into engagement and holding them there. The outer extremity of the head of the draw-barA is furnished with the horizontal slot 19 for the reception of the ordinary link in case the opposite car is furnished only with the ordinary link-coupling, a pin N being seated vertically in the outer extremity of the draw-bar A, through slot 19, for that purpose. To provide for coupling cars having only said ordinary link and too low to make the coupling in the slot 19, I form an inwardly-projecting` hook 2O on the lower surface of the head of the draw-bar A,

upon which the usual link 21 can be placedV and then coupled in the ordinary way to such adjacent lower car.

The action of the lever11,before described, is sufficient to uncouple the car by the lateral movement of one of the draw-bars A. Therefore each car will be furnished with but one lever 11 and its attachments at each end thereof,such levers being placed on opposite sides of the car, so that the uncoupling can be effected or automatic coupling permitted from either side of the latter.

The buffer 5 is placed in the same horizontal plane with the end sill l of the car-frame, and in a normal position is parallel therewith and a slight dista-nce therefrom. Thebuffer 5 is extended nearly the entire width of the car, and is supported by two horizontal bolts O, seated, respectively, a suitable distance each side of the location of the draw-bar A. The bolts O pass horizontally through the sill 1 and buifer 5, and on said bolts, in the interval between said sill and buffer, there are seated the coiled springs 8. The openings in the buffer 5 for the bolts O diverge outwardly, which permits a sufficient lateral oscillation of the buffer 5 to conform to the arc of the train in passing around a curve. The bolts O are loosely seated in the sill 1, and when the `buffers of adjacent cars come forcibly together the springs 8 permit the buffers to yield toward the sill 1 and the bolts 0 to pass suiiiciently inwardly through t-he latter to relieve the concussion; Supplemental leaf-springs S can be interposed diagonally between the sill 1 and buffer 5, outside of the bolts O, if desired.

Heretofore buffers have been placed below the plane of the body of the car, and in violent concussions, the body of the car being IOO IIO

above the point of concussion, there was a tendency for the center of the carto rise and thus wrench or break the car-body. In my improvement I place the point of concussion in direct linewith the lower portion of the car-body, and thereby obviate the difficulty just named; the body of the car receiving the concussion in the direct line thereof.

S S are safety-chains connecting buffer 5 and front sill l, to provide againstsaid buffer dropping under the car in case of the casual breakage of bolts O.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is 4 l. In a car-coupling, the combination of the draw-bar A, provided with the clutchhead 23 and pivotally seated near it-s forward end in the car-frame and provided with the longitudinal horizontal slot B, the frame C, provided with pin-hole D, cross-bars 3 and 4, inserted in slot B and serving as ways for the lateral oscillation of said draw-bar, the lever ll, projected to the side of the car, toggles l2, connecting the inner end of said lever to the rear end of said draw-bar S, and means, substantially as shown, for securing said lever at the outer end of its arc of movement, for the purpose described.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination of the v draw-bar A, pivotally seated in a horizontal plane near its forward end and provided with a coupling head or clutch 23, lateral ways 3 and 4, lever ll, suitably fulcruined to the carframe and flexibly attached at its inner end to said draw-bar near the inner end of the latter, and slide 13, provided with engaging lug or depression G, substantially as shown, and for the purpose described.

3. In a car-couplin g, the combination of an oscillating draw-bar A, provided with the coupling-head 23, lateral ways 3 and 4, lever ll, toggles l2, slide 13, provided with engaging-lug G, and opposing spring 6, adapted to return said draw-bar to its normal position when said lever is released from said lug, substantially as shown, and for the purpose described.

ately to the lever ll and adapted at its other end to be wound upon said rod 15', whereby the uncoupling of cars can be effected from the deck thereof, substantially as shown, and

for the purpose described. l

The combination of a draw-bar A, provided with the coupling-head 23 and pivotally seated near its forward end in a horizontal plane, the lever ll, toggles l2, vertical rod l5, provided with crank J, a slide 13, provided with retaining-lug G, and chain 17, whereby said drawbar is drawn and held out of eugagement, substantially as shown, and for the purpose described.

` 6. In a car-coupling, the combination of a laterally-oscillating draw-bar A, pivotallyV seated near its forward end and provided with coupling-head 23, lever ll, provided Iwith arm L, toggles l2, chain 17, vertical rod l5, provided with plate K, fulcruml M, lever J, and opposing spring G, whereby said drawbar can be restored to its working position from the top ofthe car, substantially as shown,

8. In combination with a car-frame A, the' buffer 5, seated on bolts O in the same plane with the end'sill l, parallel therewith and a slight distance therefrom, and interposed springs 8, whereby the violence ofthe concussion is relieved and the force thereof received in the line of the body of the car, substantially as shown, and for the purpose ydescribed.

In testimony whereof I aiiir my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JACOB HAISH. Witnesses: t CHARLES H. SALISBURY,

J oHN F. BERGQvIsT. 

